ATT sets out priorities for next Scottish Parliament

24 April, 2026

The Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT), alongside the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) and the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG), has set out five key priorities for the next Scottish Parliament, urging policymakers to strengthen and modernise Scotland’s evolving tax system.

Together, the five priorities are intended to support a more responsive, evidence-based and accountable tax system for Scotland.

The priorities are:

  • Greater understanding of the impact of income tax divergence to see if changes to income tax are impacting Scotland’s appeal as a place to live, work and do business. This will be particularly relevant as the incoming Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government will have to decide the income tax rate payable by Scottish taxpayers on property income, which will be increasing in the rest of the UK from April 2027.
  • Better awareness of Holyrood’s tax powers among MSPs and the public, (the results of a poll commissioned by the CIOT found low levels of understanding). To help achieve this, the ATT would like to see the Scottish Government consider a greater role for financial awareness in the school curriculum.
  • Consensus across the political parties on meaningful council tax reform, following the Scottish Government’s consultation on the future of council tax in Scotland. The ATT feels it is important that any replacement system is simple to understand and linked to ability to pay, without the need for complicated relief structures.
  • A review of the tax powers introduced by the Scottish Parliament to assess their cost, how well they work, and whether they achieve their aims.
  • A regular Scottish Tax Bill to help the Scottish Parliament update tax laws more quickly, give greater scrutiny and fix anomalies and respond more flexibly to UK tax changes.

Chris Campbell, ATT Technical Officer, said:

“Scotland’s tax powers have developed significantly over the past decade, but as further devolved taxes are introduced, the system now needs to evolve further to ensure it is working effectively, transparently and in line with its policy objectives.

“Improving understanding of how devolved taxes operate is essential, not just for policymakers, but for the public too. Public understanding of devolved taxes in Scotland is currently lower than it is for UK wide taxes. Greater clarity will support better scrutiny and more informed debate around the choices being made

“At the same time, there is a clear need to strengthen the evidence base underpinning tax decisions. In particular, understanding the impact of income tax divergence and its interaction with UK wide taxes paid by Scottish taxpayers is critical to assessing how Scotland competes as a place to live and do business.

“The next Scottish Parliament also has an opportunity to take stock of existing tax powers. A structured review would help determine whether current approaches are delivering as intended and where changes may be needed. A regular Scottish Tax Bill could help support this.”

Notes:

  1. CIOT, ATT and LITRG: Our tax priorities for the new parliament
  2. CIOT poll: The summary report and data set can be found by clicking on the respective links. The survey was carried out by the Diffley Partnership for CIOT using the ScotPulse panel. Fieldwork took place between 30 March and 3 April, achieving 1,032 responses. Results are weighted to the 2024 Scottish mid-year population estimates by age and gender.